


In Which a Prank Goes a Hair Too Far

by Treekianthia



Series: Gremlin Adventures [2]
Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: (Also includes implied Alfyn/Primrose), (The gremlins strike again), Comedy, F/M, Non-Consensual Haircuts, Pranks and Practical Jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 17:26:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17964893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treekianthia/pseuds/Treekianthia
Summary: While trying to enjoy a quiet morning, a loud scream disrupts H'aanit's relaxation. When she goes to investigate what has caused such a disturbance, she learns that Cyrus' has been the victim of a rather unfortunate incident- one that he has not taken a liking to.





	In Which a Prank Goes a Hair Too Far

**Author's Note:**

> The following fic is the result of me getting an absolutely dumb idea. As it's a comedy, it really shouldn't be taken seriously.

The morning was quiet.

H’aanit sat in the comfort of the inn’s main room, inspecting her bow as she rested in front of the fireplace. She had woken up early in order to take Linde out for a hunt; however, the two had promptly returned when a heavy fog fell over Victor’s Hollow and the surrounding forest. It had impaired the huntress’ vision, and though her companion had heightened senses and hadn’t been dettered, H’aanit did not want to risk continuing in such conditions. Such weather could make a hunt dangerous by creating unneeded risks.

Now, the beast sat curled up at H’aanit’s feet as the huntress worked to make sure her bow was in top form. The fire crackled next to them, and it was the only sound that could be heard. As far as she was aware, none of H’aanit’s companions were awake and she was alone. It was not a surprise, however, as the sun had barely risen. There was no reason for any others to be awake at this hour.

For H’aanit, such silence was enjoyable. Normally when the group traveled they were noisy and rambunctious, but that was to be expected with a group of eight people (and sometimes more if the dancer or nun managed to bring someone along). Growing up in S’waarki, the huntress had grown used to being surrounded by nothing but the sounds of nature and silence, as it was a natural part of the hunt. Noise scared off prey, so complete silence was what was preferred. It was when H’aanit was truly in her element.

...but then the silence was broken by a horrified scream.

It was loud, piercing through H’aanit’s ears. It had echoed its way to her and her companion, and the beast began to growl as her ears perked up. Linde was ready to hunt, but not for the source of the sudden noise, but what had caused it to occur.

Bolting up, H’aanit quickly ran to the hall. Panic filled her, and though she ran as fast as she could, her steps still felt slow. Each time her feet touched the ground, it felt as if they were sinking below the surface. It was as if the floor was no longer solid, and was instead made of sand. She cursed under her breath as she continued to move forward.

The worst part was that this wasn’t the first time H’aanit had heard this certain scream. She had heard it before in a circumstance involving a rotting monster and a gruesome injury. One that she would never forget. Somebody had been hurt when the scream rang out. Somebody who was important to her.

“Cyrus, art thou alright!?”

The huntress had burst into the room she was sharing with one of her companions- one whom she had taken as her romantic partner. Inside, he stood in his nightwear while staring into a mirror with a horrified look on his face. In his hand, he held black strands of something wrapped tightly together.

“M-my hair, H’aanit! Somebody has gone and cut my hair!” Cyrus cried out as he waved his hand. Taking a better look at the man, H’aanit could see what he was talking about. Though his bangs laid untouched, the long ponytail he normally kept his hair in was missing from his head. It was then she realized what it was that he had been holding.

“How didst this happen?” H’aanit asked as she approached her lover. His skin was paler than normal, and he had a look of panic and fear on his face. In an attempt to calm him, H’aanit placed her hand on his arm and rubbed gently.

“I don’t know!” Cyrus replied as his free hand grasped where his hair had been cut. “I woke up with an odd feeling of lightness, and when I went to brush my hair I realized what had occured! Looking around, I found my own hair placed right in front of me!”

“Didst thou notice anything unusual before then? Such as a noise of somebody entering?” H’aanit continued to ask. She wasn’t sure  _why_  somebody would want to cut Cyrus’ hair, but they had apparently felt a need to. With how distressed he was, H’aanit hoped she got to the bottom of things soon.

“No, nothing at all! I had been sleeping rather peacefully beforehand!” Cyrus explained. “I woke up briefly when you and Linde left, but I managed to fall back asleep while reading a rather interesting book. You see, it was about the possibility of parallel worlds, and-“

“Cyrus, tis’ not the time,” H’aanit interrupted. As much as she enjoyed his enthusiasm, they had more important things to take care of at the moment.

“Yes, yes, you’re right!” Cyrus admitted. “I just don’t understand who would want to do such a terrible thing to me, and how they got in no less!”

“What in the names of the gods is going on in here!?”

Another voice joined the conversation, this time loud and deep. Turning her attention to the doorway, H’aanit could see another one of their companions standing there in his own nightwear. Behind him, three others stood with various degrees of sleepiness. It seemed they had all been woken by Cyrus’ scream. It had certainly been loud enough.

“Ah, Sir Olberic. Primrose. Alfyn. Ophilia. I apologize if we hath woken thee from thy rest,” H’aanit told the group. By the state they were all in, it seemed they had all come in a rush. Primrose and Alfyn especially looked unkempt.

The cleric of the group yawned. “We all heard somebody screaming, but it took us a bit to realize where it had come from,” she explained. Next to her, the dancer nodded.

“It sounded like somebody was being attacked by a wild animal, but I hadn’t thought it was Cyrus,” Primrose commented. “I had been in the middle of something, but I wanted to make sure that whoever it was, they were okay.”

The apothecary next to Primrose began blushing as Primrose finished talking, but H’aanit paid him no mind. Instead, she sighed and turned her attention back to Cyrus, who was still in distress. He still held the locks in his hand.

“Somebody went and cut my hair as I slept!” he informed their companions with another cry. “The fiend even left it for me to find!

“Shucks, that’s horrible professor!” Alfyn responded with a small bit of panic. Glancing over, H’aanit could see that the young man had placed his hand on his own hair, which was messily pulled back. She assumed he was worried his ponytail would be the next victim.

“Do you have any idea who could have done such a terrible thing? Or why?” Ophilia asked the professor. Even she was fiddling with her own hair now.

Cyrus shook his head. “I have no idea who could have done such a thing!” he answered. “I can’t think of anybody whom I could have angered!”

“A jealous husband, perhaps? One of a woman you may have unknowingly began to charm?” Primrose suggested. “Even if you have given yourself to H’aanit, you still manage to get yourself in trouble with your words.”

Now it was H’aanit’s turn to shake her head. “Tis possible, but unlikely. Unless the culprit was already at the inn, they wouldeth not knowen what room Cyrus was in.” she pointed out. Olberic, meanwhile, nodded in understanding.

“The culprit is more than likely somebody who is amongst the guests,” he emphasized. “Do you have any guesses to who it could be, H’aanit?”

The huntress’ eyes narrowed as she looked amongst the group. “...I cannot confirm it, but I haveth an idea as to who could hath done this,” she admitted. Including herself, there were eight travelers in their group, but as of now, only six of them were present. That left two of them still unaccounted for.

“Who was it? Who did this to me!?” Cyrus asked as he put his hands on H’aanit’s shoulders. She noted he was being a bit overdramatic, but she knew she couldn’t blame him for acting in such a way. If somebody had snuck in and cut her own braid, she would have been furious and a hunt would surely begin.

“Gods, what’s everyone freaking out about over here? Don’t you know people are trying to sleep?”

Once again, H’aanit found herself turning towards the doorway. Olberic had moved out of the way to look down the hall, and H’aanit could clearly see what was going on. Their last two companions had finally shown themselves.

“Somebody has gone and cut this young lad’s hair as he slept,” Olberic explained to the two. Holding suspicions against them, H’aanit stepped forward and stared them down.

“Dost thou perhaps knowen any info relating to the incident?” she asked them. In her mind, she had already labeled them the guilty party, but she knew she needed more proof of their involvement before making the accusation.

The young merchant girl spoke up. “Nope! This is our first time hearing about it, but it’s pretty unfortunate if you ask me.” She was holding onto the arm of the thief she had walked over with, and H’aanit noticed he had marks of pink lip gloss on his cheek.

“We thought we heard a strange noise but just assumed it was a dying animal or something similar,” Therion explained. “When the commotion didn’t die down we figured we’d come and see what had happened.”

Tressa nodded fervently in agreement. “We weren’t expecting to find everyone gathered around like this. When we saw you all standing here we figured something bad must’ve happened!”

“It’s horrible! Terrible even! I’ve done nothing to deserve such a thing!” Cyrus interjected. He was not taking any of what had happened well and continuing to be dramatic.

“Calm down, it’s just a haircut. It’ll grow back,” Therion commented, seemingly annoyed by the professor’s reaction. “I also doubt anybody will even notice the difference unless they get a really good look at you.”

“Besides, what malicious reason would anybody have to cut off the professor’s ponytail in the first place?” Tressa chimed in. It was then that H’aanit’s stare became a piercing glare, and she stepped even closer to the two.

“Thou hath been causing much trouble ever since thee becamen a couple. Thou could easily be the guilty party we seek,” she accused. “Especially since I doth not recallen Sir Olberic mentioning it being Cyrus’ ponytail that was removed.”

The merchant girl grew pale. “Oh, well! I just assumed you know! You said his hair was cut, but his bangs look fine!” She let out an awkward laugh, and the thief next to her began to grow twitchy.

“You know, it’s rather rude to make accusations against an innocent girl and her boyfriend,” Therion mentioned as he returned H’aanit’s glare. The huntress squinted.

“Thou art acting quite defensive for someone who claimeth to be innocent,” she countered. There was no doubt in her mind that the two had done this, and she wasn’t going to let them get away with it. The thief, however, waved his hand and shook his head.

“What’s so bad about an innocent party claiming their own innocence? Wouldn’t any of you act the same way if you were wrongfully accused?” Therion pointed out. He sounded irritated.

“On top of that, you also have no proof it was us!” Tressa added on. “We were asleep, just like everyone else!”

“Um, actually…” Ophilia began. H’aanit turned to the young cleric as she stepped forward. “Now that I think about it, I thought I heard the two of you whispering in the hall earlier this morning. I had woken up for my morning prayer, and when I finished, I heard you two discussing something about ‘payback’...”

Slightly offended, Tressa began to pout. “Just because you thought it was us, it doesn’t mean it  _was_  us!” she claimed. “We’re not the only ones in this inn, you know!”

From the other side of Ophilia, Alfyn cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head. “...I heard you guys too,” he admitted. “I wasn’t… Actually asleep this morning. I  _was_  going to go out to collect some items from the forest for concocting, but I got sidetracked before I left.” Next to him, the dancer winked.

“And if you try to accuse Alfyn of anything, I’ll gladly be his alibi,” Primrose commented, putting her arms around the apothecary’s waist as she did so. Cyrus, meanwhile, marched towards the suspicious duo.

“This! You did this!” he screeched as he waved his hair in their faces. “What do you have to say for yourself? What did I ever do to you, you absolute… Gremlins!” Next to him, Linde growled and prepared to pounce in their direction. She could sense what was about to occur.

The thief blinked before looking at the shackle on his wrist. “...oh look at the time. Tressa and I need to go.”

Without hesitation, the thief swept the merchant up into her arms and ran down the hall. Laughter rang out from the two of them, and H’aanit could feel her blood start pumping. A hunt had begun, and she and Linde were at the ready.

The hunt fortunately did not last long, as the guilty party was easy to catch. There were not many places for them to run inside of the inn, so they were quickly cornered as they tried to flee. Linde continued to growl at them as her tail swished, and H’aanit warned them to surrender before things turned ugly. Knowing that there was no escape, the two gave themselves up. They admitted to everything that they done, and why the had done it. They did not, however, show any regret for their actions.

It turned out Cyrus had unknowingly traded away an item that they had worked hard to obtain: a pendant that Tressa had grown fond of. It had meant a lot to them, and they claimed it was the first item they had procured through their collaborative efforts as a couple. After discovering what Cyrus had done, the two plotted to get back at him one way or another. They hadn’t wanted to hurt him, however, so they decided they would do something they considered harmless. Therion had picked the lock after H’aanit had left that morning, and Tressa did the actual cutting while Cyrus slept.

While Therion and Tressa’s punishment was being decided at another’s hand, H’aanit returned to Cyrus, who had finally gotten dressed for the day. Tressa’s cut had been choppy, so Primrose had offered to fix it. The length had been shortened dramatically, and to reflect those changes Primrose had cut his bangs as well. The way he was now, Cyrus looked like a completely different person. He was frowning.

“Did you happen to learn why they did it, dear? Why they chose my hair as their victim?” he asked as H’aanit entered the room with Linde. The leopard stretched out before jumping onto the bed and curling up next to her master’s beloved.

“Aye, Cyrus. Tis’ a rather childish reason if thou were to ask me. They claimeth that thou traded a very rare pendant for a book, and that they hath spent many moons trying to procure said item,” she explained. Cyrus turned his attention to a book that had been placed on the nightstand.

“Oh, yes, I remember that pendant. A strange girl stated that it had originally belonged to her, and in exchange for returning it to her she gave me the book I was reading last night,” he explained in return. “I was only returning it to the rightful owner.”

H’aanit sighed. “Either way, they were hurt deeply by thou’s actions, as the pendant helden great importance to them. They claimed that they had boughten it from a small shop, and there art proof of their purchase in Tressa’s bag.”

“It was still no reason for them to cut my hair!” Cyrus complained as he turned back to H’aanit, who went and sat next to Linde. As the huntress sat down, the beast rested her head on her master’s lap.

“If it makes thee feel better, I liken how thee looks with shorter hair,” she commented. It was something different, and it brought out some of his more handsome features. The only downside really was that it was harder to see his eyes with the current style, as she was fond of the deep shade of blue they were.

“I’m glad that at least you like it,” he said despite the fact he was still frowning.“Though I still fail to see why they had to cut my hair! They could have just told me how they felt about the situation!”

H’aanit shrugged before scratching Linde’s cheek. The beast purred. “Thou must remember that they are still children. They dost not knowen any better than to causen trouble.”

Cyrus began to grumble. “Tressa is closer to being a child, yes, but Therion is a grown man. He should realize these things have consequences and be teaching this to Tressa.” He was pulling at the shorter strands of hair that now formed his bangs, and he seemed displeased.

“Therion will comen to understand that once their punishment is decided and Tressa shall follow,” H’aanit assured them. The young couple was currently in another room awaiting for the final verdict for their actions, and though Tressa had protested, the thief surprisingly admitted that they had been in the wrong. He still made his normal snide remarks, however, stating that whatever they decided would never be as bad as what he had already gone through.

Sighing, Cyrus joined H’aanit in giving Linde attention. “Well, as long as Sir Olberic is the one in charge, it will surely be a just punishment that will put them on the right track,” he stated before looking a tad concerned. “...Sir Olberic is the one deciding the punishment, right? Surely he’s the most appropriate one to make the decision beyond you or I.”

An awkward silence followed Cyrus’ words. H’aanit cleared her throat. “...tis’ actually Primrose. She art the one deciding the punishment,” she revealed. Cyrus inhaled sharply and closed his eyes.

“Oh… Oh no…” he muttered before re-opening his eyes and speaking up. “I am angry at the two of them, livid really, but you know how Primrose gets when it comes to revenge. She’ll surely do something that will only cause more trouble.”

The huntress nodded knowingly. “Aye, but tis’ no longer in mein or thou’s hands. However, thou can at least knowen that the two will regret what they hath done to thee by the time it comes to an end.”

Cyrus muttered under his breath. “May the gods have mercy on them and their reckless souls…”

And by the screeches the two troublemakers made as Primrose cut their own hair in return, the Huntress and Scholar decided that the Thief and Merchant needed as much mercy from the gods as they could get.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no reason for writing this fic other than the fact I found the base concept really funny. The entire time I was working on this I was cracking up, and though I had originally planned to go in a different direction with it, I decided that I wanted to keep it simple and short. I'm not used to writing smaller pieces, but since this isn't a chaptered work, I figured I could get away with it. It's a little less weird though knowing I at least managed to make it over 3000 words... Though the original goal was supposed to be 1000. Kind of funny how I used to never be able to write anything larger than 1000-2000 words, but now it's almost impossible for me.
> 
> Anyway, more dumb stuff for the HaCy and TheriTressa tags on here! Even if they aren't really a huge part of this fic, it still counts, right???


End file.
